Cleaner for the casting pots or pot wells of linotype and intertype machines



. PEIFFER. CLEANER FOR THE CASTING POTS 0R POT WELLS 0F LINOTYPE AND INTERTYPE MACHINES.

. APPLICATION FII .ED FE B. g 1922. qgg ggo, Patented Sept '19, 1922.

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5 WW 2 131 a l/Vl/E/VTOR J/j IOE/FFER,

4 ATTORNEYS 1. M. PE|FFER.-

CLEANER- FOR THE CASTING POTS 0R POT WELLS- 0F LINOTYPE- AND |NT ERTYPE MACHINES.

- APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2, 1922.

1,429,900, I I PatentedSe pt.19,1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

VE/V TOR 7 A TTUR/VEYS Fatented Sept. 59, i922.

STATES JOHN M. IEIFFER, OF BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-EAL TO EL'MER J. GERMAN, OF NORMAL, ILLINOIS.

CLEANER FOR THE CASTING POTS on ror warms or mnorvrn AND riv'rna'rrrn MACHINES. I

Application filed February 2, 1922. Serial No. 533,580.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN M. Pnrrnnn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bloomington, in the county of McLean and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cleaners for the Casting lots or Pot Wells of Linotype and Intertype Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to the casting pots or pot wells of linotype and intertype machines and particularly'to the cleaning of these pot wells in order that the usual well plunger may be permitted to work freely in the pot well in the ordinary operation of the machine. Brushes are commonly used for this purpose and are open to the objection that bristles are often left adhering to the wall of the casting'pot or well, a disadvantage which my invention seeks to avoid.

Generally speaking my invention aims to provide a rotating cleaner having a head shiftable into the castingv pot or well of a machine of the above type, and having means whereby it may be rotated therein, the head including normally latched spring controlled means in the nature of scraping or cleaning blades which upon release are capable of seeking and maintainingeven uniform engagement with the cylindrical inner surface of the casting pot or well irrespective of whether or not the head is maintained in true axial alinement with the pot or well.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate my present invention and form a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view illustrating the practical application of'my invention, I

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectionalview taken longitudinally through my improved scraper and cleaner, r 1

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2,

Figure l is an enlarged sectional view through the latch, i

Figure 5 's an enlarged perspective view of my improved implement, I a

Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 6-6 of Figure 2,

Figure 7 is a detail perspective viewbt one of the blades,

Figure 8 is a detail perspective view of a portion ofthe shaft with its blade shifting member,

Figure 9 is a detail perspective view of one of the guide members of the head, and

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the head showing the blades extended in the operating position.

Referring now. to these figures I have shown in Figure 1 certain portions of a machine, such vas a linotype or intertype machine having a casting pot or pot well indicated atjlO, in which a plunger (not shown) ordinarily works and in which the collection of casting metal impedes proper operation of the plunger to such an extent that cleaning or scraping of the adhering casting metal becomes necessary at certain times.

The casting pot, as is well known, is of cylindrical form and my invention proposes an implement for scraping and cleaning the same, said implement including an elongated stem 11 having a head at one end for introduction within the casting pot 10 and having at its opposite end a crank 12 and handle 13'by whichthe stem may be rotated.

The stem 11 as will'be seen by reference to Figure 2 is of hollow cylindrical or pipelike form, one end being threaded as at 14 for connection with the upper generally triangular guide piece 15 of the head, and its opposite end being similarly threaded as at 16 for connection with a spring housing 17 to the latter of which the inner portion of the crank 12 is: attached so as to form a cover for the housing.

In addition to the inner or upper generally triangular' guidepiece 15 the head in cludes an outer orlower guide piece 18, the guide pieces being rigidly connected in spaced apart relation by stay rods 19 and having their opposing faces provided with guide grooves 20 looselyreceiving the inclined ends 21 of the generally rectangular blades 22, the latter of which are of tapering form by virtue oflthese inclined or beveled ends as seen in Figure 7 and each of which has a centrally locatedrectangular aperture 23. i

It is thus obvious that each of the blades 22 is tangentially shiftable with respect to the head as a whole in the guide grooves20 be pressed between the collar of the end guide members 15 and 18 of the head, and that each blade 22 is capable of angular shifting movement with respect to the head particularly when the blades are moved. so that their effective scraping edges project materially beyond the normal limits of the head in the effective or operating position as seen in Figure 10.

Rotatably mounted through the hollow stem 11 is a shaft 24-, the lower portion of which projects axially through the'scraping head and the lower end of which is journaled through a central opening 25 of the lower guide member 18 of the head, The uper end. of this shaft extends through the spring housing 17 and is also journaled through the innerportion of the crank 12 and carries an angularly projecting lever 26 movable upon the upper or outer surface of the crank.

' Secured upon the shaft 24 within the head and at a point centrally located between the guide memberslo and 18 is a blade actuating member 27 in, the form of a disk having radially outstanding cam members 28 adapted to project through the centrally located apertures 23 of the several blades 22 as seen particularly in Figures 3 and 5 so that upon rotation of shaft 245 the blades 22 will be shifted tangentially of the head to either the retracted position shown in Figure 3 or the extended operating position shown in Figure 10, depending upon the direction'of such rotation. v

To control rotation of shaft. 24, its upper end is engaged by the inner portion of, a spring 29 located within the spring housing 17 and connected at its outer end to said housing, this spring tending to rotate the shaft in a direction such as to shift the blades 22 outwardly to the efiective or operating position shown in Figure 10.

For normally controlling the action of the spring actuated parts, the lever 26 at the upper outer end of shaft 24 is provided with a latch including a vertically shiftable latch pin 30 movable ina cylindrical latch casing 31 anchored on the lever, the lower reduced end-32 of which latch pin is en gageable, in an aperture 33 of thefcrank arm 12 so as to normally hold the blades 22 in the retracted inactive position shown in Fig ure 3, The latch pin 30 has an upper head 84. and is provided with a lower inner collar 35 engaged by a spring 36 coiled around the latch pin as best seen in Figure 4 and come 35 and the upper end of the cylindrical latch casing 31.

Thus in operation for the cleaning of a casting pot or well 10 as scraping and cleaninghead of my improved implementiis extended downwardly intothe well, and after being properly positioned therein, the ,latchpin 30' is elevated against the] tensionof its spring 36 by grasping and in Figure 1, the,

lower end of the pin from the opening 33 of the crank 12 so that the spring 29 can then act to rotate the shaft 24; and, through the actuating cam member 38, force the blades 22 tangentially of the head so that their projecting side edges at one side thereof will move into yieldingspring controlled engagement with the inner cylindrical surface of the casting pot or well. The stem 11 is then rotated by the operator, who grasps the handle v13 for this purpose and this rotativc movement which of course communicates itself to the scraping or cleaning head is continued until all of the castlng metal adhering to the inner surface of the casting pot or well is scraped therefrom in order that the usual plunger (not shown), which is of course removed for the cleaning operation, may thereafterv work. freely" and easily in the casting pot in the ordinaryoperation of the machine.

It is obvious by reference to Figures 7 and 10 that by virtue of the particular shape of the blades 22, that is the fact that these blades have tapering vor beveled ends, and the further fact that the means for shifting the blades loosely engage the same at approximately central points, the blades themselves when shifted tangentially of the head to the extended operating position shown in Figure 10, are free to move angularly with respect to the head in order that their scraping edges may remain in uniform even engagement with the inner surface of the casting pot'or well even should the head and the stem 11 extend or project out of axial alinement with the casting pot or well.

When the cleaning operation has been completed it is simply necessary to grasp the lever 26 and rotate the shaft 2-1 in a reverse direction until the lower end of the latch pin 30 moves into the crankopening 83. (At this time the blades 22 will be again in retracted position and the'implement may be freely removed from the casting pot 10 since its function has been completed.

I claim: 1. A casting pot scraperr and cleaner ineludingv a stem having a handle at one end, and a scraping head at the opposite end of the stem having a series of tangentially shiftable blades normally held in retracted position and loosely guided within the head, and means for shifting the blades tangentially beyond the head, including an element on which the blades have limited rotative movement.

2. A casting pot scraper and cleaner inthrough the stem and controlled from a point adjacent to the handle.

3. A casting pot scraper and cleaner including a stem having a handle at one end, a head at the opposite end of the stem rotatable with the latter and the handle and including tangentially shiftable blades, and

means for shifting the blades beyond the head having controlling means including a shaft rotatable through the stem, and spring means engaging the shaft.

it. A pot scraping and cleaning implement including a rotatable stem having a handle at one end and a scraping and cleaning head at its opposite end, said head including laterally shiftable loosely guided blades, and means for shifting the blades, said means engaging the blades centrally thereof and permitting limited rotative movement of the blades in the head.

5. A casting pot scraper and cleaner including a rotatable stem, a head rotatable with the stem having laterally "shiftable blades, and means for shifting the blades including elements directly engaging the blades at their centers, said blades being loosely disposed and angularly movable in the head and having limited rotative movement on said engaging elements of the said shifting means.

6. A. casting pot scraper and cleaner including a rotatable stem having a handle for rotating the same, a head rotatable with the stem having laterally shifting blades and guides in which the blades are shiftable, and means engaging the blades approximately at the center thereof for shifting the blades with respect to the head, said blades being angularly movable with respect to the said shifting means in the guides of the head.

7. An implement of the character described including a hollow stem having a handle rigidly connected thereto at one end, a head rigid with the opposite end of the stem scribed comprising a hollow stem having a head rigidly mounted at one end, a handle at the opposite end of the stem for rotating the same and the said head, said head including opposing guide members provided with grooves and blades movable in the grooves and having centrally located apertures, a shaft extending through the stem, having a lever at one end adjacent to the handle, a spring engaging the shaft for rotating the same in one direction, and a blade actuating disk on the shaft within the head having outstanding cam members projecting into the openings of the blades.

9. An implement of the character decribed comprising a hollow stem having a head rigidly mounted at one end, a handle at the opposite end of the stem for rotating the same and the said head, said head including opposing guide members provided with grooves, and blades movable in the grooves and having centrally located apertures, a shaft extending through the stem, having a lever at one end adjacent to the handle, a spring engaging the shaft for rotating the same in one direction, and a blade actuating disk on the shaft within the head having outstanding cam members projecting into the openings of the blades, and a latch member on the lever of the shaft, engageable with the handle to lock the shaft against rotation by the said spring.

JOHN M. PEIFFER. 

